Thoughts on PVRs and the TV Industry
Today I read through a couple of articles posted on PVRblog by Matt Haughey and got really angry with the state of affairs in the PVR market. As expected, PVR units such as TiVo or ReplayTV are selling like hot cakes.
Yesterday, TiVo reported the largest surge in usage of its service due to the Janet Jackson/Justin Timerlake incident. It really bothers me that PVR manufacturers have access to this kind of data. They claim they will only use the data in aggregate, not on a personal user level. Still, I think this has privacy implications. TiVo or ReplayTV could easily sell this data to TV stations, and they probably do.
I refuse to buy a PVR until it is disconnected from a centralized network. I don’t want companies having access to statistics about how often I watch TV, the times I watch, and the channels I watch. Essentially, I want an upgraded VCR with a hard drive. Let me cut out the commercials and pause live TV. In return, I’ll throw down a hundred bucks, maybe even one fifty if the unit is nice.
However, try to charge me a subscription and I’ll think twice. This has been my reaction so far to such units. I don’t like the idea that at any point in time in the future, TiVo or ReplayTV can raise their subscription fee and I’m screwed because I already threw down $150 for a unit. Realistically, this model plays into the hands of the manufacturers and the consumer ends up getting the shaft.
TV stations claim that TiVo is going to change the way television is broadcasted. Ads are going to be placed on screen during programming. The one thing TV stations don’t mention is that if they’re going to keep their current style of programming in the half hour format, full screen ads are going to stay in place. Right now on some stations TV commercials take up fifteen minutes of a thirty minute program. If stations are going to replace full-screen ads with ads during programs, programs are going to half to get longer.
Let’s face it — TV stations aren’t producing very high quality shows right now, and they’re going to have trouble doubling run times. Therefore, I think their claims are a lot of hype. I’m not a big fan of the media anyway because stations started logo-branding their channels. Yes, stations very well might start showing ads during a program, but it’s not going to be because TiVo is killing TV. No, stations are going to start doing this because they want even more ad money, so they’ll use TiVo as an excuse to saturate the airwaves with ads.
In the end, for me it’s a tough situation because I refuse to pay a subscription for a new wave VCR. I hate ads so I want a PVR. I guess the only possible solutions are to build my own PVR or just stop watching TV. If stations start running ads all the time on screen, they’ll make the choice of unplugging the tube a lot easier.
3 comments
(4 years, 9 months ago)
TiVo offers a lifetime subscription for $300 — that pays for itself in two years and you don’t have any monthly commitments.
Alternatively, go the DirecTV route and you’ll pay $5 a receiver, which is what you pay for additional receivers anyway.
TiVo is a lot more than a glorified VCR. Can I VCR determine when your favorite shows come on and automatically record them? For example, when a network moves a program from Wednesday to Friday nights, or extends a program from its normal 30 minutes to a full hour, can a VCR adapt to that and make sure that your program is recorded? Nope. But TiVo can and does!
(4 years, 9 months ago)
Oh sweet I didn’t know about the lifetime deal. And that is a good point that you can schedule TiVo, but if you ran your cable input through a PVR that you left on all the time, it could do the same thing without having the TV turned on. I just get weirded out by these reports that clearly show companies like TiVo are able to collect a lot of data about its customers.
(4 years, 9 months ago)
You may want to wait on the TiVo purchase. Many cable companies are now offering integrated DVRs. There is usually no upfront cost for the hardware, usually an additional 7-12$ a month fee for the use of the new box and service.
Pros:
No need to layout the cash on TiVo
You have to pay a subscription fee anyway and this may be cheaper.
Recording a show while watching another doesn’t require a splitter it is all done in the box. I hear some of these boxes can record 2 different shows at the same time.
As the boxes get better you can turn your old one in for a new one and not worry about buying a new TiVo when something better comes along - as it always does.
Some Cons I have heard it doesnt have as much programming as TiVo like if a show moves times and no season pass. But in many cases not a need for people.